Full Transcript for 3pm Bruce Binkowski, SD sports legend

over $ 300, 000. That's just incredible. So we thank our listeners for contributing and listening. 00:02:31 Speaker 3: Yeah, such a cool, you know, we talked about it yesterday, just such, like genuinely, like think about the cause here for a second. The whole point of the program is we have wounded, ill, injured veterans. We just want them to be with their family during the holidays. 00:02:50 Speaker 1: Are you asking? Think about what the cause is. 00:02:54 Speaker 3: We just want them to be with our family. We interviewed a few different people yesterday. that are obviously part of the program. These are veterans who have gone through a lot. And look, just using their words, I mean, many times they're like, look, this company, this nonprofit saved my life. That's literally their words. So just an unbelievable day yesterday of getting a chance to hear some of these stories. And thank you to all that decided to contribute. 00:03:27 Speaker 2: A terrific day of the warrior foundation freedom station give a thought here at iheart in 2026 all right we're gonna have a really good show lined up we've got a san diego sports legend bruce binkowski uh who's been involved in the local san diego sports scene since the 1970s he's doing pa for the sheesh bill walton classic tomorrow yep and he's going to join us at 330 chris hodge free picks for our listeners as always each and every week he'll join us at four there you go will brinston our. 00:03:51 Speaker 1: Nfl insider you know what he's going to want to talk about alan What's he going to want to talk about? Don't say it yet, Brent. You should know. He's going to want to talk about NC State. Correct. 00:04:01 Speaker 2: Because they're getting close. They just met with Phillip Rivers on Wednesday in Alabama. And he's coaching a state playoff game tonight. 00:04:07 Speaker 3: I need you to do me a favor. Because here's what happened last week. When you mentioned NC State. 00:04:12 Speaker 1: He goes crazy. It was like, yeah. And we were then seven minutes over. That was at the end. 00:04:18 Speaker 2: And then he was saying, I know it was right at the end. And then he was like, hey, I could keep going. He's like, I want to talk about this more. 00:04:24 Speaker 1: He really wanted it. He's like, I'll call you later. So how do you strategically want to throw in NC State? 00:04:30 Speaker 2: I think we start with it, and then if it goes less than 20 minutes, we'll ask him about an NFL game. 00:04:34 Speaker 1: I like that. Yeah, start with that. I mean, it's kind of interesting. You could tell him. 00:04:37 Speaker 3: You could say, hey, listen, if you have some time, we also want to ask a question about the NFL. 00:04:40 Speaker 1: In your lifetime, serious question. 00:04:43 Speaker 2: In your lifetime, where would Phillip Rivers rank among San Diego athletes? You're in your forties celebrating your birthday in your life. 00:04:51 Speaker 1: Where would rivers rank? Okay. 00:04:54 Speaker 3: So we'll, we'll let me, let me kind of, I'll throw some names out there of like, Hey, these are legendary players in my lifetime. Okay. Got the Tony Gwynn's of the world, the Trevor Hoffman's of the world. Got the junior say I was of the world. Got LT Antonio Gates is on there. Kawhi Leonard is on there for San Diego state university. 00:05:14 Speaker 1: Yeah. 00:05:15 Speaker 3: And it's impossible to name all of those names and not have Phillip rivers in that, in that conversation. 00:05:20 Speaker 1: So Mount Rushmore, if so, I mean, so probably in that top three, four or five, right? 00:05:24 Speaker 3: Just, you know, he was, you know, it's tough, but you can't, you can't, there's nobody that you can say this for. You can't be like, well, no, you know, it takes a championship and unless you have a championship, then that's all that matters. 00:05:37 Speaker 1: But nobody else does. I might be old. It has to be old, right? This brand is your computer tied to YouTube. Yeah, it is. 00:05:43 Speaker 3: It is. 00:05:43 Speaker 1: All right. Yeah. All right. Then we'll, that must've been on. Okay. So here's the deal. 00:05:48 Speaker 2: So really good show lined up again. We'll have Will Brinson joining us coming up at four 30. Have you seen the latest related to Thai France? He is quoted in the athletic. This is an article, not from Dennis Lynn, but from Will Salmon who wrote about Thai France. And I was going through free agency before he's never really had the payday. I mean, he was a minor league free agent last year. Listen to this quote that he told The Athletic on Thursday. I'm coming off a good year, and it's hopefully going to be my first good free agency as a player. I'm open to hearing everyone out. And then The Athletic reports multiple teams are already expressing interest in the 32-year-old Ty France. And this is sources on the condition of anonymity about the market for France. 00:06:29 Speaker 1: I love the sources on the condition of anonymity. It's a tough one to say. But it's one of my favorite. Like... At one point, I was like, I think that's a real person. I think that's the source. The source is that person. 00:06:42 Speaker 2: What do you make of that? 00:06:46 Speaker 1: I'm trying to get paid. Trying to get paid, yeah. 00:06:50 Speaker 3: What I make of that is this is my opportunity to cash in, and I'm going to try to cash in. 00:06:56 Speaker 1: And you got no, I don't think there'd be a San Diego. 00:06:58 Speaker 3: And if he went out and, you know, got a deal that he felt like was the right deal for him. I don't think anybody would have any animosity towards him. I don't think anybody would be upset at him. That's if, you know, obviously if it's, Hey, the Mets are offering this to the Padres offering the exact same amount. If you chose the Mets, maybe I take that a little personal, but if he's out there and what that quote tells me is I'm open for business. And, you know, if I'm a, if I'm selling my house, I love you all, but

whoever gives me the highest amount is probably where I'm going to go. 00:07:29 Speaker 2: I think he's out because as I read more in the article, and this is why I say it, I mean, he's basically showing his cars. 00:07:35 Speaker 1: Listen to this quote. 00:07:36 Speaker 3: Okay. 00:07:36 Speaker 1: Have you seen this? 00:07:38 Speaker 2: It's not like I need to be in one place. France said Thursday, we had the babies. We have a little more freedom now to be able to move around the country. I love San Diego and I really enjoyed My time there. But I also understand the business side of it. 00:07:52 Speaker 1: Yeah. Bye. 00:07:53 Speaker 2: In my opinion, I just, because it's going to be only financial and the Padres will make an offer would be my guess. But is someone else going to make a higher offer based on his year? 00:08:01 Speaker 1: Yeah, probably. But I think it's going to be only financial for both sides. Only financial for both. Yeah, exactly. 00:08:08 Speaker 3: I think the Padres are also going to look at it and like, Hey, no, no harm done. You had a phenomenal year for us. Appreciate your time here. Appreciate your time at San Diego state. You will be known as the guy that hit the roof in Milwaukee. You know, you'll, you'll be known as the, we'll never know moment. Cause in five years from now, we're going to say, remember where the whole tie Francine, remember the, or the brewers. 00:08:31 Speaker 1: Of course we will. 00:08:32 Speaker 3: So I mean, you'll have his, you'll have a little bit of stake here in, in the history of San Diego sports. 00:08:37 Speaker 1: Cause we will be talking about that for years to come. Yeah. Probably gone. Probably gone. that's a, that's a safe one to say. 00:08:46 Speaker 3: Yeah. 00:08:46 Speaker 2: Like he said, yeah, I, I just read that and I can't get past that. And maybe the Padres prioritize him like no other team in baseball because they had them internally and say, you know what, if there's a three-year offer out there for $ 45 million, we'll match it. And maybe if it is matched to your point, maybe then he does come back because that's what actually, that's what they hold on. The Mets offered you three for 45 and the Padres offered you three for 45 and you went to New York. But I do think that if one team goes to third year, or if one team goes to 15 a year and he's getting 12 here, I think it's. 00:09:15 Speaker 1: Going to be all business. 00:09:17 Speaker 2: I mean, I get it. You got a young family. You want to get as much as you can. It's never been really paid off. 00:09:23 Speaker 3: And his situation's different, right? Like not every player's situation is the same. And his situation is, I mean, I think the beginning of that quote that you mentioned about this is his chance. 00:09:34 Speaker 1: This is his opportunity. 00:09:35 Speaker 3: Like you put yourself in a position sometimes, whatever occupation it is that you do, You might love where you're working today, and then just out of nowhere, somebody across the street picks up the phone and calls you, and it might be in another market. And they say, hey, what you do here in San Diego, we'd love to have you in Atlanta. Oh, by the way, we will financially take really good care of you. 00:09:57 Speaker 1: And that's something that you got to consider. Oh, yeah, I wanted to. tell you. 00:10:00 Speaker 3: It's nothing personal to San Diego. It's nothing personal to that. I think it's more that. 00:10:04 Speaker 1: You going to Atlanta? Atlanta. Congrats, man. I was going to mention it in the next segment. No, no, I'm not. But that is it. But you know what? It depends. 00:10:13 Speaker 2: It's a time and place conversation because there are athletes out there. There are athletes that are willing to. 00:10:19 Speaker 1: Say, you know what? All things equal. Not even the hometown discount conversation. Okay. 00:10:24 Speaker 2: But you say, you know what? My wife's from Orange County. Like Xander gave us a hometown discount. 00:10:30 Speaker 1: No, Xander didn't. I mean, Xander could have probably got a lot more. 00:10:33 Speaker 2: Trey Turner is an example. Trey Turner was offered more here. He's like, my wife's from Jersey. She doesn't want to live in the West. 00:10:39 Speaker 1: Sure. 00:10:39 Speaker 2: So like there are circumstances that play out. Aaron Judge, wasn't he offered more to play here than he was in New York? 00:10:45 Speaker 1: That's insane. Yeah, but didn't leave. That's a different mind. 00:10:48 Speaker 2: We're talking $ 400 million players or $ 300 million players. 00:10:52 Speaker 1: Ty Francis never had the big payday. 00:10:53 Speaker 3: Hey, there's plenty of people, I'm sure, that are born and raised in San Diego and. 00:10:58 Speaker 1: Could have made more money somewhere else. Like, I ain't going anywhere. Exactly. 00:11:03 Speaker 3: Whatever the price is to get me to leave somewhere, it's worth it more for me to be here. 00:11:07 Speaker 1: So it works both ways on that. No doubt about it. 00:11:09 Speaker 2: So we'll see what happens to Ty France, who, again, is a free agent. It's among the players we've been talking about, obviously, here. Early in the offseason, are we still waiting for anything related to free agency? I mean, maybe France is one of the first players to sign. He sounds pretty motivated. And if there's multiple teams interested, even though nobody can speak publicly, maybe Ty France will be one of the first players to sign. 00:11:30 Speaker 1: Honestly, they should never sign. ever promote. They should never promote MLB free agency. It really should. 00:11:39 Speaker 3: Honestly, they should just, they should, I don't know, do like some top 10 on MLB network and just keep replaying it. 00:11:46 Speaker 1: Top 10 plays at 2015. Yeah. Remember when they're like free agency starts five days after. Why did you mention the worst promotion ever? Has it really started? It's awful. When did the world series end? 00:11:57 Speaker 3: I

mean, I'd rather you just like, just do round three, all-around coverage of the potential lockout. 00:12:03 Speaker 1: I'd be more interested in that. It's unbelievable. 00:12:06 Speaker 2: All right. We're just getting started here on this Friday afternoon. Great show lined up. We have tickets to give away to see three days. Grace Bruce Minkowski, San Diego sports legend. He's going to join us coming up at three 30 with more in the bill Walton classic free picks for our listeners with Chris Hodge from taking Vegas at four and will Brinson our NFL. 00:12:22 Speaker 1: And NC state insider. 00:12:23 Speaker 2: We'll join us coming up at four 30 here on Schaefer and Sliwa San Diego sports, seven 60. 00:12:28 Speaker 1: We're live on the I heart radio app. Schaefer and Sliwa, San Diego Sports 760. 00:12:39 Speaker 2: Good show lined up, including a giveaway. We'll give those tickets away. We were telling you about earlier. 00:12:45 Speaker 1: Let's see. 00:12:45 Speaker 2: We've got a pair of tickets to see Three Days Grace coming up at the A-House Arena Friday. 00:12:50 Speaker 1: November 20th. We'll give those away this hour here on the show. 00:12:54 Speaker 2: Okay, so you know how they're going to spend the entire offseason arguing about whether a salary cap should be in baseball or not? 00:13:00 Speaker 5: Right. 00:13:01 Speaker 1: We've been talking about that for, what, a year or more, longer? I should put a sign in the background that says salary cap. Enforced. Enforced salary cap. That's what you want. That's what I want. And a lot of people do. And we've been talking about it for forever when it comes to baseball. Do a lot of people, because I feel like everyone we interview, I'm like trying to get them to lean my way. I don't really see it. I don't know. It's a floor. 00:13:24 Speaker 2: You know, it's so funny because you and I have argued about this, but for the better part of the six or seven. 00:13:28 Speaker 1: Months, I think I'm not. 00:13:31 Speaker 4: I haven't. 00:13:32 Speaker 2: The funny, I think you've changed a little bit. I think you've actually come more to the center. Because I think six or seven months ago, you're like, I want a cap, even if it's at the expense of the 2027 season. 00:13:42 Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't. 00:13:44 Speaker 3: Know how much I've shied away from that. 00:13:47 Speaker 1: You're still feeling that way? 00:13:48 Speaker 2: You still would take a cap at the expense of the 2027 baseball season? 00:13:51 Speaker 4: I would not. 00:13:54 Speaker 1: All right, I don't know if you've ever put it that way. 2027 is gone. 00:13:57 Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm going to need to. 00:14:02 Speaker 1: Hold out. for what I think will. 00:14:09 Speaker 3: Even out some of these teams that happen to be really, really good and have unbelievable resources. And because I'm in the same division with one of those teams and probably any path to getting to a world series, I would like to hurt that team as much as possible. And

I think a salary cap would hurt that team. So whatever I need to do to do that, I think is the appropriate long-term plan. So you would miss the season. is what you're saying. I, however I could get it done. I need to get it done. I need to get it done long term. 00:14:43 Speaker 4: I need to get it done. 00:14:43 Speaker 2: I understand what you're saying, but you just said, Hey, listen, the team in this division that's preventing me from getting to the world series. 00:14:48 Speaker 3: They're not the only one, but obviously they've looked, they, they, they own, they've owned baseball for decent amount of time, but. 00:14:55 Speaker 1: There's still ways to get past them. Absolutely. Okay. 00:14:58 Speaker 3: Of course, of course there is like, I, I hate the argument of like, Like, it doesn't have to be black or white. 00:15:04 Speaker 1: Like, I hate the argument about. 00:15:06 Speaker 3: Well, they didn't win it this year, so they're fine. 00:15:09 Speaker 1: Baseball's fine. That's not what I'm talking about. 00:15:11 Speaker 3: I'm talking about a team that's spending over $ 500 million. 00:15:14 Speaker 1: That has deferrals. It's not that it's fine. There's stupid things that are in place for baseball. 00:15:20 Speaker 2: It's not that it's fine, but you're willing to say it's so off the mark. that I would be willing as a baseball fan in a city like San Diego, that's got nothing else to sit on the sidelines for a year to level this thing out. That's a, that's a significant tax or penalty to baseball fans. 00:15:38 Speaker 1: Even if you think the deck is stacked against you. I think here's the problem. 00:15:42 Speaker 3: The problem is I'm watching other leagues that I feel like I like their structure better than ours. 00:15:49 Speaker 1: Sure. 00:15:49 Speaker 3: I like their structure better than major league baseball. And I'm not trying to look at major league baseball from a six month, one year, three year perspective. If a salary cap comes into play, it ain't ever going away. 00:16:02 Speaker 1: Like that's it. It's done. It's never going away. It's not going to happen. But yeah. Well, I mean, all these other, I don't know how these. 00:16:09 Speaker 3: Other leagues, how they started to where, you know, if they eventually got to a salary cap, but I will tell you this, if there's a, if there's a year for it to happen, this will be the closest they'll ever get to it. 00:16:19 Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely. I mean, they're not getting further, to your point. 00:16:22 Speaker 2: Anyway, it's a long way of me saying this, that I didn't think that MLB's discussion related to a salary cap would tie us back into college athletics, because there's an interesting report today out from ESPN, Pete Thamel, that says the SEC, the biggest, baddest conference that there is, is in discussions about imposing a luxury tax concept for next year. 00:16:44 Speaker 1: So. 00:16:47 Speaker 2: Any team that goes over that house settlement number, $ 21. 3 million would be taxed as a result. And I guess the tax would stay within the league benefit. Maybe the teams that weren't spending the way the other teams at the top of the league. 00:16:57 Speaker 1: Were spending literally that is the blueprint. Most of these leagues, it's the blueprint of most of these leagues. As in you have a cap. 00:17:10 Speaker 3: If you go over that cap, you are now paid a tax and, And that tax then benefits all the other teams that did not go over it. 00:17:17 Speaker 1: There's that's called baseball. It is baseball. But at least, I mean, you're, you're talking about the wild, the. 00:17:23 Speaker 3: College athletics, more of the wild college athletics makes major league baseball look like kind of Vatican. 00:17:30 Speaker 5: Yeah. 00:17:31 Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying? Like it is, it is in order to get from one step to another. 00:17:35 Speaker 3: And by the way, I'm not a fan of that in the sense of, I like the tax, but what I'm not. And I think maybe this is what happens when people say, a floor is more important than, than a, than a cap. I'm not a fan of, Hey, I didn't spend my money. So now I get more money for not spending my money. Like, why are you rewarding, rewarding these schools? I do think that's, that's an, that's too good of an incentive for other schools to say, well, I'm just going to go over the cap. 00:18:05 Speaker 1: Too good of an incentive. If they're taxing it, it's too good. If I'm give me a school in the sec that ain't competing Arkansas. 00:18:13 Speaker 3: If I'm Arkansas and I know I can't compete with these other schools, it's a no-brainer for me to stay under that. If I'm Alabama, I'm saying to myself, it's a no-brainer for me to go over. 00:18:22 Speaker 1: Right. But listen to this proposed tax as I click on this article. It's absurd. You'll laugh at this. Is it as tiny as possible? As tiny as possible. 00:18:31 Speaker 2: The first $ 1 million over would be taxed 1%. The next million would be taxed 2%. The next million would be taxed 3%. 00:18:38 Speaker 1: That's comical. 00:18:40 Speaker 2: Taxing a percent on a million dollars for the University of Alabama? 00:18:43 Speaker 1: That's comical. You truly, truly. That's a slap in the face. 00:18:49 Speaker 3: I wouldn't even write that article if that's how minuscule it is. 00:18:54 Speaker 2: Alabama's going to have to write a check for $ 10, 000. 00:18:58 Speaker 1: Let me give you an example. 00:19:00 Speaker 3: If you want to get people's attention, real attention, 100%. 00:19:05 Speaker 1: Minimum dollar for dollar. Right. 00:19:07 Speaker 2: A million costs you a million, a million costs you minimum. 00:19:11 Speaker 1: Right. But you really want people's attention. Like there is something in the NBA. 00:19:14 Speaker 3: I don't know if it's like, if it's like $ 3 for everyone, but there's like, Hey. 00:19:19 Speaker 1: We're just not going to go over because it's so much money. It's just, it's not a good business plan.

00:19:24 Speaker 3: Right. You think these other schools, like that's, the fact that that's even written as an article is a slap in the face. 00:19:29 Speaker 2: We don't know what it would be, but one of the ideas being tossed around in the article is 1% for the first million, 2% for the second million, 3% for the third million. Again, that's nothing, obviously. I don't think Alabama's not going to sign players because. 00:19:41 Speaker 1: Of the $ 10, 000 charge. 00:19:42 Speaker 3: That's like going to the grocery store and you just spend $ 180 and you're like, not paying for that bag. 00:19:48 Speaker 1: Not paying for that bag. 10% of the 10 cents. You don't want a bag. It's 20 cents. Like you just want us to double bag it. No, no. You want to save. 00:19:57 Speaker 3: It's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Your total is going to go from $ 180 to $ 180 and 60 cents. 00:20:04 Speaker 2: But it's funny because that's how sometimes people think. It's like they always say, like, you go to a fast food restaurant and you get, like, the Big Mac and you get, like, the fries. 00:20:11 Speaker 1: Oh, you want a Pepsi? No, diet. You're just having 2,000 calories. Like, do you think that the Pepsi is going to be the difference between it being healthy or not? But, yeah. Or it's like, yeah, do you want it? Hamburger or cheeseburger? How much is it for the cheese? It's 29 cents. No, I'm good. 11 bucks in what's 29 cents. Anyway, that is fascinating. And they are, it's interesting how they're tied together. 00:20:34 Speaker 3: Yeah. 00:20:35 Speaker 2: I would never think the sec would do it. And now that I read about that, it's almost like they're not doing it. If you're going to tax 1%, it's almost like you're not doing it. 00:20:42 Speaker 3: That's almost like we just want people to talk about it, but we know how absurdly stupid and ineffective it will be. 00:20:49 Speaker 1: It won't be effective. 00:20:50 Speaker 2: The bill Walton classic is tomorrow. I'm going to be down at the China arena broadcasting live pregame coverage. 00:20:54 Speaker 1: Beginning at 1130 AM. 00:20:56 Speaker 2: If you're there, you're going to hear Bruce Benkowski, the legendary San Diego sports figure on the PA. Mike, he'll be doing both of the games of the double header. We'll talk to him about tomorrow's bill Walton classic and more that's next year on Schaefer and Slay with San Diego sports, seven 60 live on the I heart radio app. All right, we're excited for a really cool event tomorrow here in San Diego. We've talked about it over the course of the fall and getting ready for this week. 00:21:24 Speaker 1: The Bill Walton Classic down at Pechanga. 00:21:26 Speaker 2: And we're going to have it for you, of course, right here on San Diego Sports 760. It's great to connect with a San Diego sports legend. 00:21:32 Speaker 1: We have Bruce Pinkowski. In studio with us, you're going to be doing PA. 00:21:36 Speaker 4: I will be doing the PA tomorrow. 00:21:39 Speaker 2: You've been a fixture in San Diego when it comes to sports for how long? 00:21:42 Speaker 5: Well, my PA career started in about 1970. In fact, little known fact, Bill Walton played in the sports arena in high school for Helix with the championship. And I was the PA announcer. I was 20, 21 years old. doing the PA for the basketball. 00:22:06 Speaker 1: The Helix. 00:22:06 Speaker 5: So that's where I kind of got my start. I got my start at the sports arena. I was hired by the San Diego Rockets in 1970. So I worked for them for a year. I went to Houston with the Rockets when they were sold. I spent a year with them there. Then I came back and was hired by the San Diego Gulls, spent two years with the Gulls, and they went out of business. When they went out of business, I worked for the Conquistadors at the American Basketball Association, the ABA. They went out of business. Then I went to work for my father-in-law. Hopefully he didn't go out of business. No, he was my ex-father-in-law after about a year. And then I went to work for the Mariners of the World Hockey Association, and they went out of business. 00:22:43 Speaker 4: And then I. 00:22:46 Speaker 5: Got hired by the Holiday Bowl in 1978 and spent over 30 years with the Bowl. They're still a business. They're still a business. They're still a business. But along the way, I was very fortunate to do public address announcing. I started as the backup for the Padres in 1973. And then starting in 1986 through 99, I was the full-time PA announcer for the Padres. 00:23:07 Speaker 4: And the Chargers, I started in 1977. Never heard of them. 00:23:10 Speaker 1: All the way. Never heard of them. 00:23:13 Speaker 4: Through the 99 season there. 00:23:15 Speaker 5: And then I stopped doing the PA when I became the executive director of the Holiday Bowl. 00:23:21 Speaker 4: So they didn't want me to, you know, moonlight. So I spent all those years doing the PA for those. 00:23:26 Speaker 5: But along the way, after all my years with the Holiday Bowl, Mark Neville, who's now the CEO of the Bowl, they bring me down every year. So I do the PA and I have worked every single Holiday Bowl at one level or another as either PR director, marketing director, executive director, or PA announcer since 1978. 00:23:42 Speaker 4: So, Bruce, it's been fun. 00:23:44 Speaker 3: Tomorrow, kind of a special day here in San Diego, right? The Bill Walton Classic will be the inaugural season. And like you mentioned, Mark Neville has got, obviously, a big piece to do with trying to start that event here in San Diego. 00:23:58 Speaker 1: What's your thoughts on just the event in general and an. 00:24:01 Speaker 3: Opportunity to show love to such a great San Diegan and Bill Walton. 00:24:05 Speaker 5: Bill Walton was a legend. And actually, it started becoming a legend in his high school career. And over the years, obviously, he always had those so close ties to San Diego. And I used to run into Bill every now and then. I

wasn't a deadhead, but I was a big Moody Blues fan. And I'd see him at Moody Blues concerts at Humphreys, and we'd run into him at special events and so forth. But Bill Walton was literally probably associated with San Diego more than just about any any of our athletes, maybe, maybe as Tony Gwynn, I said, would be in that category, but, but he was San Diego sports. And so for, for the sports San Diego to come up with this idea, to honor Walton's, his memory and what he contributed to sports in San Diego, I think is a tremendous idea. And I'm, thrilled to be able to go back to where I started my PA career at the sports arena 56 years later to come back and do the PA again. 00:24:56 Speaker 4: So it's going to be a lot of fun. 00:24:57 Speaker 2: What's amazing about we, Alan and I have spent some time in the sports arena. It's not that we're having a conversation necessarily on it now, but I mean, it's kind of remarkable. Like the sports arena in its infancy was like hosting final fours. 00:25:08 Speaker 1: Wasn't it? Didn't UCLA play a final four in 1975? 00:25:10 Speaker 4: Uh, that was the final four at the sports arena. 00:25:14 Speaker 1: Unbelievable. Yeah. 00:25:15 Speaker 5: Yeah. And, uh, In fact, I was at the first Gulls game in 1966 when the Gulls, they started on the road. 00:25:22 Speaker 4: I remember way back when they started on. 00:25:23 Speaker 5: The road and had something to play like eight, 10 games on the road before they opened up in November of 66. 00:25:28 Speaker 4: So I was there and eventually I got to be their PR director. 00:25:31 Speaker 5: And I remember, obviously, with the San Diego Rockets, I started out as a statistician, helping on stats and so forth, and then being able to work for the Rockets. 00:25:42 Speaker 4: And then, of course, they were moved to Houston. So I was always. 00:25:46 Speaker 5: Luckily, I was involved with every single sports team just about that came through San Diego. In fact, people don't remember the San Diego sales of the American Basketball Association. They lasted about a quarter of a season. I was their head statistician for about 10 games. A quarter of a season? It was about a quarter of a season. They started the season and folded. Yep, that was good. I worked for the San Diego Jaws of the North American Soccer League back in the 70s doing PA. So, yeah, it's just been a great ride to be able to be involved in San Diego sports all my career. 00:26:21 Speaker 1: By the way, tickets are available right now for tomorrow. BillWaltonClassic.com. We're really looking forward to it tomorrow down at Pechanga. 00:26:27 Speaker 4: And it tips off at noon. 1230. 1230, but in the noon hour. 00:26:31 Speaker 1: Don't scare me because we're on the air. 00:26:34 Speaker 4: Well, I'll be there, too. But that tips off. 00:26:37 Speaker 5: The first game is Colorado and San Diego State, and then the girls follow. So USD and UCSD. So it'll be a fun afternoon of basketball. 00:26:46 Speaker 2: My question for you, going back another generation of sports arena, because we're talking now about the 60s and 70s, and you were doing PA for the Rockets. 00:26:54 Speaker 1: Right, the San Diego Rockets? 00:26:56 Speaker 5: The PA announcer for the San Diego Rockets in those days was Fred Lewis. 00:27:01 Speaker 4: But you were working for the Rockets. I was working for the Rockets. 00:27:03 Speaker 1: Okay, you were working for the Rockets. Here's my question. It's a general question. Okay. What on earth was the NBA like from 1967 to 1971? 00:27:09 Speaker 2: Because it's nothing like what it is obviously now, as you know. 00:27:13 Speaker 1: How different was it back then? 00:27:14 Speaker 4: It was so different. First of all, there were two officials. That's number one. 00:27:18 Speaker 5: Number two, you didn't have centers taking the ball out of bounds and dribbling up court. 00:27:23 Speaker 4: You know, the centers would come and post up. 00:27:25 Speaker 3: Hey, that's only, that's only probably in the last like 15 and 20 years. 00:27:29 Speaker 1: Yeah. 00:27:30 Speaker 5: And, uh, and the games were just, uh, it was just very physical. But, you know, Toby Kimball, uh, was a center for the San Diego Rockets. 00:27:40 Speaker 4: He was six, eight. 00:27:41 Speaker 5: He wasn't considered small in those days. Now as a center at six, eight, you know, guards are six, eight here. So it was all so different. Um, when we moved to Houston, when the Rockets, uh, we played games in, um, Waco, San Antonio, El Paso, Hawfines Pavilion, the Astrodome, and Astro Hall. 00:28:00 Speaker 4: So that first year in Houston, we were all over the place. 00:28:04 Speaker 5: And watching a game in the Astrodome was, we had a broadcaster by the name of Art Ekman. And Art was kind of a, he's kind of an emotional guy. And the Rockets were playing the Milwaukee Bucks. And that was the year of 71, 72. The Bucks said, Lou Alcindor at the time. And they were just getting blown out. And the fans were leaving and we're in the Astrodome. Everyone was all excited. And about two minutes left to go in the game. And I was his guy sitting next to him reading the promotional spots, but I wasn't a color announcer. I was just doing promotional spots. And about two minutes ago, he says, well, the fans are leaving. The Rockets have given up. 00:28:41 Speaker 4: I'm out of here too. Binkowski, take it away. And he walked out. 00:28:44 Speaker 1: Wow. 00:28:45 Speaker 4: Sitting there. I'm 21, 22 years old going, well, And it was a miserable, it was terrible. 00:28:51 Speaker 1: I was just, I. 00:28:52 Speaker 3: Got to, I'm going to flip back to something, but just real quick was Pat Riley on, on any of those teams that. 00:28:58 Speaker 4: Riley played for the San Diego Rockets in the late sixties. 00:29:00 Speaker 3: Okay. 00:29:01 Speaker 5: And you wouldn't, if you knew him back in the late sixties, you would have never thought that Pat Riley was going to be the Pat Riley that he

is today. 00:29:07 Speaker 1: Well, Bill Walton, of course is on the Clippers NBA team. 00:29:09 Speaker 5: He was on the Clippers. I was the PA announcer for the Clippers. I forgot them too. I did the Clippers and yeah, but he was, he was there and he was, but, he was hurt a lot, but then when he went to Boston that one year, he was able to win the championship, uh, with the Celtics. 00:29:24 Speaker 3: So what made, you know, he's so Bill Walton's legacy and he's so beloved, um, not just across San Diego, really anybody that had any connection with. 00:29:34 Speaker 1: Him, they all loved him. 00:29:36 Speaker 3: Why do you think, what was so unique about his personality that just drew everybody towards him? 00:29:41 Speaker 5: He didn't treat anybody any different. He would talk to anybody at any level and would not say, you. 00:29:48 Speaker 4: Know, like, hey, I'm Bill Walton. I'm a superstar. 00:29:50 Speaker 1: I make a lot of money. 00:29:51 Speaker 4: He would treat everybody the same. 00:29:53 Speaker 5: And he was always, I never saw that man in a bad mood ever. And I'm sure he was every now and then, but he was just personable, friendly, warm. And had he not suffered all the injuries that he had throughout his career, I think he would have been considered one of the greatest. Well, he's still considered one of the greatest, but he would have been the greatest basketball player ever, in my opinion. Now, I will say this, when I watched him in high school, I remember remarking to someone, you know, he's a good player, but he's too skinny. I don't think he'll ever be a good pro. So I didn't know what I was talking about at the time, but boy, he was amazing. And not only could he shoot, but his outlet passes. That was the thing that I remember more than anything else. He grabbed a rebound and start the fast break and do the outlet pass. And anyway, he was, he was just a great player, but, but personable. He was so personable, so nice and always friendly to everyone. 00:30:42 Speaker 2: I think there are those that of course believe he might've been the greatest college basketball player ever by far. 00:30:47 Speaker 5: Right. 00:30:47 Speaker 1: I mean, I think he's in the conversation for that. 00:30:49 Speaker 2: And his, his, um, Yeah, his memory or his impact is so profound, obviously, in San Diego specifically. 00:30:54 Speaker 1: To have an event like tomorrow, Bill Walton Classic. 00:30:57 Speaker 4: I think it means so much. 00:30:58 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's going to be great. 00:30:59 Speaker 4: Players like Bill need to be remembered. 00:31:02 Speaker 5: And, you know, as generations move on and, you know, people, a lot of people go, you know, I was talking to some young kids about Tony Gwynn once. 00:31:10 Speaker 4: And they went, who? 00:31:11 Speaker 5: And I thought, you know, that's sad. So players who have such an impact on their sport. Tony Gwynn, Bill Walton, need to be remembered. And the fact that they're doing the tie-dye, all that stuff, I think it's just so great. 00:31:26 Speaker 4: Again, he was just such a nice. 00:31:28 Speaker 5: Human being and a great ambassador for the sport of basketball. 00:31:32 Speaker 1: Are you going tie-dye shirt tomorrow? 00:31:33 Speaker 4: Not shirt, no, but I've got a tie, a tie-dye tie. 00:31:38 Speaker 1: Tie-dye headband. 00:31:39 Speaker 5: So I haven't worn a tie since we live in Montana, and I haven't worn a tie in 10 years, but definitely the headband for sure. 00:31:45 Speaker 3: Yeah. 00:31:45 Speaker 1: John's painting his chest. No shirt tomorrow. He's in, he's all in San Diego. I don't think I've worn a tie. 00:31:52 Speaker 3: Yeah. 00:31:52 Speaker 2: It's so rare in San Diego to see someone like dressed to the nines in Southern California. 00:31:59 Speaker 1: Bruce, appreciate you taking time for us. We're looking forward to tomorrow. 00:32:02 Speaker 4: Great to be here. 00:32:02 Speaker 1: And me too. 00:32:03 Speaker 4: Looking forward to a great day of basketball and, uh, It'll be a lot of fun. 00:32:07 Speaker 1: Our listeners tickets are available right now. 00:32:08 Speaker 2: Bill Walton, classic.com, San Diego state, Colorado, followed by USD, UCSD on the women's side tomorrow at Pechanga arena, beginning at 1230. Appreciate you swinging by. We'll see you tomorrow down at Pechanga arena. All right, Chris Hodge with some free picks for our listeners coming up at 4 PM. 00:32:23 Speaker 1: Stay with us. 00:32:24 Speaker 2: Schaefer and Slee with San Diego sports, seven 60. 00:32:30 Speaker 3: All right, tonight we have Lakers basketball for you when the Lake Show take on the Portland Trailblazers. Pre-game coverage begins at 645 with tip-off at 7 right here on your home for the Lakers, at least for NSD, San Diego Sports. 760, it had Jason Quick on this morning who covers the Portland Trailblazers and had him on a little bit earlier. 00:32:53 Speaker 1: Oh, did you? Yeah, I did. I didn't realize you had Jason Quick on. Okay. 00:32:56 Speaker 3: All right. 00:32:57 Speaker 1: Still going. Celebrating Alan's birthday today. Mary's even singing happy birthday, but not really saying the words out loud. Thank you. Silently. That is very kind. Appreciate that. That's awesome. Thank you, guys. Thank you, Mary. 00:33:12 Speaker 4: All right. 00:33:13 Speaker 1: Let's take another break so we can eat this. Thank you. Look at that, man. There you go. Did you make a wish? 00:33:20 Speaker 4: I did. 00:33:21 Speaker 1: John would have been so freaked out by that candle. John, don't tell me. What's going on here? Well, just in general, recently I spilled a drink once in here. Were you here? It practically started the fire. It started a fire. I smelled smoke after I spilled the drink. You spilled it around outlets and stuff. Yeah, that's probably going to happen. And then I came back that night. I was so worried that the studio was going to catch fire. 00:33:47 Speaker 2: Then I think I came back here 30 minutes

later to make sure the building wasn't on fire. 00:33:51 Speaker 1: It was a Friday afternoon because I felt as if. 00:33:53 Speaker 2: They were going to get rid of me if the whole building burnt down. 00:33:56 Speaker 1: Without me saying. 00:33:57 Speaker 3: You don't know what insurance they have. 00:33:58 Speaker 1: You're right. And I didn't tell anyone. I think I told Mike or Brent. They were like, you're fine. Anyway, happy birthday. I do respect the fact that you came back to double check. 00:34:09 Speaker 4: I have. 00:34:09 Speaker 1: What is that called? 00:34:10 Speaker 4: I'm with you. 00:34:10 Speaker 2: Are you like an OCD? Before I go to sleep, I check the locks multiple times. 00:34:15 Speaker 5: Yeah. 00:34:15 Speaker 1: Yeah. You know what I mean? 00:34:16 Speaker 3: Yeah. 00:34:17 Speaker 1: No, I'm with you. How about this? I come back from the Aztecs opener that you and I both called the other night. Yeah. 00:34:22 Speaker 2: By the time I get home, I don't know what time it is. I'm doing a post-game show, right? It's 11 o'clock at night, maybe? 00:34:26 Speaker 1: Maybe later? Maybe if they don't call 67 fouls, you get out there a little earlier. But, you know, we get home late, right? It's just after a game. I drive home. It's midnight. My garage is open. Okay. Then, like, the game. 00:34:40 Speaker 2: Before that, I drive home. I check the front door. The front door is unlocked. Like, Chris, like, don't be scared to, like, Lock the door? Like, close the garage? 00:34:49 Speaker 1: I think I might be more like your wife. You're just cool to, like, leave the doors open? Do you lock your car? I have a... Do you have a laptop in the back? 00:34:58 Speaker 3: I have a difficulty, like, not trusting people. I trust everybody. Until that person burns me. Yeah, then I'm like, okay, maybe you shouldn't trust him. 00:35:09 Speaker 2: But, okay, are you the one that would say, like, if you left your laptop in the backseat, almost like a book bag or whatever, in a backpack in the backseat, and your car got broken into, would you blame the person for breaking into your car? 00:35:21 Speaker 3: I used to be a lot worse when it comes to that. I'm not anymore because situations like that have happened. 00:35:29 Speaker 1: It happens all the time. Somebody has literally broken a window to get to. Of course. whatever it is. Yeah. 00:35:37 Speaker 3: But you can't say that's your fault. No, it's not my fault. You almost broke into your own car. 00:35:44 Speaker 1: Somebody shouldn't be breaking into my car. Yes. 00:35:47 Speaker 3: I shouldn't have had the laptop there, but I'd like to also live in a society where somebody doesn't have to break down. 00:35:54 Speaker 1: And then somebody says, well, you know what? Why did you leave the laptop here? How about the idiot that broke my window? 00:35:59 Speaker 2: I'm the one that is like, well, you left your garage open. Of course all the stuff in your garage is gone. You left it open. 00:36:06 Speaker 3: Yeah, but the garage open, that's a completely different thing, I would say. 00:36:11 Speaker 1: Like if my car is locked and I have my book bag there. 00:36:16 Speaker 3: Somebody has to literally then break the window. 00:36:20 Speaker 1: The alarm goes off. Like there's a lot of things. They take the bag. 00:36:24 Speaker 3: That's a lot more than like the garage is also. 00:36:28 Speaker 2: Still, you're probably still not a fan of someone just going into someone's garage and stealing things. 00:36:31 Speaker 1: Even if the door is open, probably not a fan of that in our society. How did we get here? We got here because Brent said something about a candle. Oh, yeah, how I would freak out. It makes me think that the place is going to burn down. 00:36:45 Speaker 3: I thought for a second there, I thought you were scared of candles. I'm like, first the bike thing, now I got to go tell people, listen, he's fine. He just can't ride a bike. I'm not scared of bikes. 00:36:56 Speaker 1: You are scared of bikes. I just don't ride them. But I'm not scared of them. I don't see them start running in the opposite direction. You said you were freaked out about them. Since this segment is completely lost. Yeah. 00:37:05 Speaker 2: Yesterday, my son's book bag is in this aforementioned garage that was open. 00:37:09 Speaker 3: Okay. 00:37:11 Speaker 1: And I'm like, oh, I got to get your book bag. Why is it in the garage? 00:37:13 Speaker 5: Whatever. 00:37:14 Speaker 2: I'll get it so I can put like your homework and your snack in the book bag. I bring the book bag upstairs. I put the book bag on the kitchen counter. 00:37:23 Speaker 3: Okay. 00:37:25 Speaker 2: All of a sudden, the biggest spider I've ever seen in my life is on the counter. I'm still freaking out about it. I ran upstairs. 00:37:34 Speaker 3: Now, that didn't do anything. So this thing, Alan, was huge. Listen, I'm not telling you that you shouldn't be scared of it. 00:37:41 Speaker 1: It was furry. But you can't go the other way. This is your home. This is mano a mano. I scream, my wife screams, my seven-year-old screams. I didn't touch the thing. Kristen took matters into her own hands. You can't do that, John. You can't do that. She grabbed a bottle of Raid. Oh, on the counter. And there's like food. I'm like, don't do it because there's like snacks. And she just did. She does. It doesn't kill it. The thing hops down to the kitchen floor, still living. She's like, he's still alive. I could tell him one second. She then steps on it. And that was the end. 00:38:11 Speaker 3: All right. 00:38:12 Speaker 1: You guys need like a different strategy. That's not a good strategy. What would you have done? First off, I'm not rating the countertop. I'm thinking the same thing. I'm not rating the countertop. I couldn't stop her. She lost her mind. Well, you couldn't stop her because you weren't in the room. 00:38:25 Speaker 3: You already got in your car and started driving

towards I heart. 00:38:30 Speaker 1: I hate spiders. 00:38:32 Speaker 3: Well, I'm not, nobody like loves them, but you gotta, I'm covering the thing up. I'm also trying to see if I can get the thing outside. 00:38:40 Speaker 1: It was huge. Even better. They're slower. It was a, it wasn't a tarantula center. It was a seven foot two center. That's not known for their speed. It had tarantula qualities. Like fur. Or like colors. 00:38:53 Speaker 3: If you can notice fur on the guy. If you can notice fur on the guy, that's a big guy. Now this is coming from the garage. 00:39:01 Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm thinking about moving. I mean, it's crazy. You need a pest control company. What do you mean? 00:39:06 Speaker 3: You need a pest control company to come out and just kind of, let's get a full thing going here. 00:39:11 Speaker 1: And then you can do endorsements for the pest control company. I would love to do that. Located in San Diego, California. So anyway, what were you saying about the Trailblazers cast? Did you add on? 00:39:22 Speaker 3: We are promoting Lakers and Blazers tonight. Yeah, actually, no, this was an interesting conversation. 00:39:27 Speaker 1: I'll bring this up. 00:39:27 Speaker 3: So Jason Quick, who covers the Blazers for the athletic. My final question, you know, I'm doing my Laker podcast in the morning. My final question to him was, what's going on with the owner in Portland? Because we've heard some of these things and everything else. Don't ask me about any of this stuff anymore. I'm a ruthless man now. 00:39:47 Speaker 1: Oh, I know. All you do is what? You're like, oh, the... Somebody available? Celtics ownership change? 00:39:53 Speaker 3: I am turning to be more and more ruthless for the benefit of San Diego because we've got screwed in our own way. 00:40:01 Speaker 1: So he said something that I think was interesting. He said something to the effect, and I feel really bad for them. I really would. I can tell. 00:40:07 Speaker 3: But he's like, new ownership comes in, been there for, I don't know, maybe over a year or something like that. 00:40:12 Speaker 1: I don't think it's been a year. Maybe it hasn't been a year. Tom, whatever, Dundon? 00:40:16 Speaker 3: Cutting back on everything. Small, stupid things he's cutting back on to save. 00:40:21 Speaker 1: The dollar here. The veteran guy, Brun Younger, yep. Yeah, okay. 00:40:24 Speaker 3: How about also the hotel or something like that? There was like, he made everybody check out early so he didn't have to pay a late fee for. 00:40:30 Speaker 1: I'm like, bruh. In the NBA? In the NBA. It's not... That's unbelievable. But I'm asking him, I'm like, but they're not leaving Portland, are they? He goes, we don't know. Threatening. 00:40:39 Speaker 3: Yeah, I guess that, you know, he's going to get maybe five to six hundred million dollars from... the city from the state and however they got it to renovate. 00:40:52 Speaker 2: I think it's the motor center. He might not take it. And now he's like, that's not enough. 00:40:58 Speaker 1: That's not enough. 00:40:59 Speaker 3: And then apparently on top of that, I think he's got to make a decision because those funds that he has, the 350 change that's coming from the state that goes away. I want to say at some point in December. And if it does, it's a process to get. 00:41:13 Speaker 1: All over again. 00:41:14 Speaker 3: So I'm like, Wait, can they actually leave Portland? He's like, there's no guarantee that they stay. 00:41:18 Speaker 1: Their lease is up in a couple of years. 00:41:20 Speaker 3: Listen, look, we're working on a stadium here at the sports arena, 16,000 seat stadium. 00:41:26 Speaker 1: I don't know if it's going to be done in a couple of years. 00:41:28 Speaker 2: By the way, since this segment's been all over the map, they're showing highlights from last night, this women's game. 00:41:32 Speaker 1: Did anyone see this? 00:41:33 Speaker 2: Where New Mexico State scored on the wrong bucket, or Southern Utah did, and they lost by one. 00:41:39 Speaker 1: You'd have to rewind it, Brent. If you rewind it, you'd see it. 00:41:42 Speaker 2: Well, there's another one point game. A team scored on the wrong bucket. 20 seconds. 00:41:46 Speaker 1: I know we got to go, but where we go. Did you also see that game yesterday? Look at this. That's the wrong. Oh, geez. Don't, don't do that. Oh no. Yeah. Oh no. You can't score on that basket. But then I guess they came back to win. Oh, they ended up winning. They ended up winning this game by scoring on the right basket. I'd be so confused. In the final seconds. All right, then they're okay. That's fine. 00:42:10 Speaker 3: Okay, last thing here real quick. Did you see the women's college basketball game yesterday? LSU versus like some Texas. 00:42:15 Speaker 1: They only won by 109. 00:42:16 Speaker 2: And by the way, LSU took a three-pointer at the buzzer up 109. 00:42:22 Speaker 1: Did I miss something here? 00:42:23 Speaker 5: No. 00:42:23 Speaker 1: Do we have no like. No, you missed nothing. Brother, that's kind of BS. 00:42:28 Speaker 2: That's LSU, by the way. I've heard too with their coach. She won national championship, Baylor. 00:42:32 Speaker 1: She went there. They're like ruthless. They took a half court shot up. What are you doing? Yeah. You know, all these people like kind of try to talk like there's a, you. 00:42:41 Speaker 3: Know, there's, there's unwritten rules and they went by 109 and nobody cares. 00:42:47 Speaker 1: Nobody's making any fuss about it. People were talking about it. You and I, I don't know. I thought I saw ESPN's article yesterday. ESPN's articles like how. 00:42:54 Speaker 3: Much they won by good win. 00:42:56 Speaker 1: Well, the line, I thought that was unbelievable BS. I really did. I agree. I agree. 00:43:02 Speaker 3: All right. 00:43:03 Speaker 2: Chris Hodge taking Vegas free picks NFL college for our listeners on the other side, Schaefer and Sliwa stay with us.